System and method for preventing multiple online purchases

ABSTRACT

A method for preventing redundant purchases of limited items includes steps for providing a commerce client to a user, receiving (a) financial information of the user and (b) a device identifier from a device the user is using to run the commerce client, the device identifier being based on one or more of user-configurable and non-user-configurable parameters of the user device, determining whether a previous transaction has been made with the device associated with the received device identifier, and disallowing the device from executing further transactions for a predetermined period of time. The method may be executed by an apparatus such as a computer server or stored as a series of instructions on a computer readable medium.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/220,099 which was filed Jun. 24, 2009 and which is fully incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed toward a method and system forcontrolling multiple purchases of an item of commerce by a single clientdevice.

Description of the Related Art

Certain items of commerce are limited in supply such as tickets tosporting events, concerts, theatrical plays, movies tickets, performingarts, etc. If an event is rare and tickets to the event are limited, aperson may be tempted to hoard as many tickets as possible. The hoardingof these event tickets allows unscrupulous people to profit from thelimited supply of these tickets while robbing others of opportunities topurchase the tickets and attend the event. Today, most tickets are soldover the Internet. This makes it easy for consumers to purchase tickets.However, the Internet has also made it easy for people to hoard ticketsand resell them later for profit when the supply of those tickets hasdiminished. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system and methodfor preventing a person from making excessive purchases of a limiteditem, such as event tickets or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodimentsin order to provide a basic understanding of such embodiments. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments,and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of allembodiments nor delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments in asimplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that ispresented later.

In accordance with one or more embodiments and corresponding disclosurethereof, various aspects are described in connection with a system forpreventing multiple purchases of limited items, the method comprising:providing a commerce client to a user; receiving a financial informationof the user and a device identifier from a device the user is using torun the commerce client, the device identifier being based on one ormore of at user-configurable and non-user-configurable parameters of theuser device; determining whether a previous transaction has been madewith the device having the received device identifier; and disallowingthe device from executing further transaction for a predetermined periodof time.

The commerce client provided to the user is configured to allow the userdevice to perform a commercial transaction with an online commerceserver. The commerce client may be an application configured to workwith the user's web browsers. Alternatively, the commerce client may bea standalone application. The commerce client allows the user device tomake purchases with the remote server or the online commerce server bygenerating and sending a device identifier to the online commerce serveras required. The commerce server may be configured to sell eventtickets, goods, or services.

For example, the limited items may comprise collector items, such asstamps, rare coins, or event tickets, which may include sportingtickets, concert tickets, and theatrical tickets. The commerce clientmay also be configured to generate and send the device identifier of theuser's device to a remote server or the online ticket server.

Once a user has purchased a ticket using a device, the very same deviceis disallowed from making any further purchase for a predeterminedperiod of time. The time period may be from a time when the firstpurchase was made to a time when the limited items are no longeravailable or the event with which the limited item grants entrance haspassed. The predetermined period of time where the device is preventedfrom making further purchases may be an hour, a day, a week, or a month.

The commerce client may be configured to generate a device identifierusing a silicon degradation characteristic of a computer chip of thedevice or at least one of a user-configurable parameter comprising oneof hard disk volume name, user name, device name, user password, andhard disk initialization date for the device. The device identifier maybe generated using at least one irreversible transformation of the atleast one user-configurable parameter and the at least onenon-user-configurable parameter of the device.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention, anapparatus for software activation is described. The apparatus mayinclude: means for providing a commerce client to a user; means forreceiving a financial information of the user and a device identifierfrom a device the user is using to run the commerce client, the deviceidentifier being based on one or more of at user-configurable andnon-user-configurable parameters of the user device; means fordetermining whether a previous transaction has been made with the devicehaving the received device identifier; and means for disallowing thedevice from executing further transaction for a predetermined period oftime.

In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention acomputer readable medium is provided. The computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon, computer executable instructions that, ifexecuted by a device, cause the device to perform a method comprising:providing a commerce client to a user; receiving a financial informationof the user and a device identifier from a device the user is using torun the commerce client, the device identifier being based on one ormore of at user-configurable and non-user-configurable parameters of theuser device; determining whether a previous transaction has been madewith the device having the received device identifier; and disallowingthe device from executing further transaction for a predetermined periodof time.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreembodiments comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects ofthe one or more embodiments. These aspects are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of variousembodiments may be employed and the described embodiments are intendedto include all such aspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention, in accordance with one or more variousembodiments, is described in detail with reference to the followingfigures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only andmerely depict typical or example embodiments of the invention. Thesedrawings are provided to facilitate the reader's understanding of theinvention and shall not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, orapplicability of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment with which a method forrestricting multiple online purchases can be implemented according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the components of an exemplary device identifier.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary operational flow diagram of the methodfor restricting multiple online purchases according to one or moreembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary computing system with which softwarecomponents can be executed to perform the method for restrictingmultiple online purchases according to one or more embodiments of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As mentioned, certain items of commerce are limited in supply such astickets to sporting events, concerts, theatrical plays, movies tickets,and performing arts. Tickets to certain events are limited in supply.Today, most tickets are sold over the Internet. This makes it easy forconsumers to purchase tickets. However, the Internet has also made iteasy for people to hoard tickets and to resell them later for profitwhen the supply of those tickets has diminished. Accordingly, it isdesirable to have a system and method for preventing a person frommaking excessive purchases of a limited item. This may be done byproperly identifying a device being used to purchase the tickets. Oncethe device's identifier has been obtained, the device may be excludedfrom making further purchases. In this way, a user cannot use the samedevice to purchase many tickets over and over again.

In one embodiment, the user may be required to install a commerce clientonto their device. The commerce client may be an application configuredto work with the user's web browsers. Alternatively, the commerce clientmay be a standalone application. The commerce client allows the userdevice to make purchases with the remote server or the online commerceserver by generating and sending a device identifier to the onlinecommerce server as required. The commerce server may be configured tosell event tickets, goods, or services. Without receiving the deviceidentifier, the online commerce server may deny the user's device frompurchasing items from its online store. For example, if a user attemptsto make a purchase with a commerce server that requires a deviceidentifier without the commerce client being installed, the commerceserver may simply refuse the connection as the expected deviceidentifier is not received.

The commerce server may be configured to receive a device identifierfrom the commerce client. Additionally, the server may be configured todisallow the user device from interacting with the server if a commerceclient is not found on the user's computer or no proper deviceidentifier is received.

During a transaction, the commerce client is configured to obtainfinancial information of the user and to forward the information to thecommerce server. The commerce client is also configured to generate aunique device identifier using one or more of user-configurable andnon-user-configurable parameters of the user's device. A detaildescription on how the commerce client generates the device identifieris provided below. Upon receiving the user's financial information andthe device identifier, the commerce client performs a cross referencecheck to determine whether the device with the received deviceidentifier has recently performed a financial transaction with thecommerce server. If a recent transaction is found, the commerce servermay determine whether the past transaction is for the same event, good,or service. If the current attempted transaction is the same event,good, or service as the past transaction, then the current transactionis not allowed. If, however, the current transaction is for a differentevent, then the user's device will be allowed to proceed with thecurrent transaction.

In one embodiment, the device identifier is first generated and sent tothe commerce server before the user's financial information iscollected. In this way, if the user's device is disqualified fromperforming a commercial transaction with the commerce server, no timeneeds to be wasted in collecting the user's financial data.

Before describing the invention in further detail it is useful todescribe an example environment with which the invention can beimplemented. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example environment 100with which the online commerce restriction, system, and apparatus isimplemented according to one or more embodiments of the presentinvention. The illustrated example environment 100 includes a user 102,a storage medium 105, computing devices 110A and 110B, a network 115, acommerce server 120, and a software/hardware module 130. Storage medium105 may be an optical disc, a memory device (e.g., flash memory), amagnetic storage medium, or other storage device not yet contemplated.Storage medium 105 may comprise the commerce client. Alternatively, thecommerce client may be downloaded from the Internet. The commerce clientmay also be digitally distributed or streamed from one or more servers.Network 115 may comprise the Internet, a local area network, or otherform of communication network.

Computing devices 110A-B may be in operative communication with commerceserver 120. While only one computing device 110 is illustrated, it willbe understood that a given system may comprise any number of computingdevices. Computing device 110 may be, but is not limited to, a gameconsole, a personal computer, a server computer, a laptop computer, atablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a mobile phone, awireless communication device, an onboard vehicle computer, or any otherdevice capable of communication with a computer network.

Computing device 110 may also a pre-installed commerce client (notshown) that may comprise a stand alone application or an applet runningwithin a web browser on the device 110 (e.g., an applet comprisingexecutable code for a Java Virtual Machine). The commerce client may beembedded in or associated with another software application, includingbut not limited to the media. For example, the commerce client may beembedded in or associated with a tool bar of a software application,such as, for example, a web browser. The commerce client may prompt theuser to register with an online software registration service, or mayrun in the background with little or no interaction with the user ofdevice 110.

The commerce client may collect information regarding computing device110 by checking a number of parameters which are expected to be uniqueto the computing device environment. The parameters checked may include,for example, hard disk volume name, user name, device name, userpassword, hard disk initialization date, etc. The collected informationmay include information that identifies the hardware comprising theplatform on which the web browser runs, such as, for example, CPUnumber, or other parameters associated with the firmware in use. Thesystem information may further include system configuration information,such as amount of memory, type of processor, software or operatingsystem serial number, etc.

Based on the collected information, the commerce client may generate adevice identifier 224 (see FIG. 2) that is unique to the user'scomputing device 110. The device identifier 224 may be stored in ahidden directory of the device 110 and/or at a remote location, such asthe commerce server 120. The device identifier 224 may incorporate thedevice's IP address and/or other geo-location code to add another layerof specificity to device's unique identifier.

It is noted that an application (e.g., the commerce client) running onthe computing device or otherwise having access to the computingdevice's hardware and file system may generate a unique deviceidentifier (e.g., device identifier 224) using a process that operateson data indicative of the computing device's configuration and hardware.The device identifier may be generated using a combination ofuser-configurable and non-user-configurable machine parameters as inputto a process that results in the device identifier, which may beexpressed in digital data as a binary number. Each machine parameter isdata determined by a hardware component, software component, or datacomponent specific to the device that the unique identifier pertains to.Machine parameters may be selected based on the target device systemconfiguration such that the resulting device identifier has a very highprobability (e.g., greater than 99.999%) of being unique to the targetdevice. In addition, the machine parameters may be selected such thatthe device identifier includes at least a stable unique portion up toand including the entire identifier, that has a very high probability ofremaining unchanged during normal operation of the target device. Thus,the resulting device identifier should be highly specific, unique,reproducible and stable as a result of properly selecting the machineparameters.

The application for generating the device identifier may also operate onthe collected parameters with one or more algorithms to generate thedevice identifier. This process may include at least one irreversibletransformation, such as, for example, a cryptographic hash function,such that the input machine parameters cannot be derived from theresulting device identifier. Each device identifier, to a very highdegree of certainty, cannot be generated except by the suitablyconfigured application operating or otherwise having had access to thesame computing device for which the device identifier was firstgenerated. Conversely, each identifier, again to a very high degree ofcertainty, can be successfully reproduced by the suitably configuredapplication operating or otherwise having access to the same computingdevice on which the identifier was first generated.

The application may operate by performing a system scan to determine apresent configuration of the computing device. The application may thenselect the machine parameters to be used as input for generating theunique device identifier. Selection of parameters may vary depending onthe system configuration. Once the parameters are selected, theapplication may generate the identifier.

Further, generating the device identifier may also be described asgenerating a device fingerprint and may entail the sampling of physical,non-user configurable properties as well as a variety of additionalparameters such as uniquely generated hashes and time sensitive values.Physical device parameters available for sampling may include, forexample, unique manufacturer characteristics, carbon and silicondegradation and small device failures.

The process of measuring carbon and silicon degradation may beaccomplished by measuring a chip's ability to process complexmathematical computations, and its ability to respond to intensive timevariable computations. These processes measure how fast electricitytravels through the carbon. Using variable offsets to compensate forfactors such as heat and additional stresses placed on a chip during thesampling process allows for each and every benchmark to reproduce theexpected values. During a standard operating lifetime, the process ofpassing electricity through the various switches causes a computer chipto degrade. These degradations manifest as gradually slower speeds thatextend the processing time required to compute various benchmarkingalgorithms.

In addition to the chip benchmarking and degradation measurements, theprocess for generating a device identifier may include measuringphysical, non-user-configurable characteristics of disk drives and solidstate memory devices. Each data storage device has a large variety ofdamage and unusable data sectors that are nearly unique to each physicalunit. The ability to measure and compare values for damaged sectors anddata storage failures provides a method for identifying storage devices.

Device parameter sampling, damage measurement and chip benchmarking makeup just a part of device fingerprinting technologies described herein.These tools may be further extended by the use of complex encryptionalgorithms to convolute the device identifier values during transmissionand comparisons. Such encryption processes may be used in conjunctionwith random sampling and key generations.

The device identifier may be generated by utilizing machine parametersassociated with one or more of the following: machine model; machineserial number; machine copyright; machine ROM version; machine busspeed; machine details; machine manufacturer; machine ROM release date;machine ROM size; machine UUID; and machine service tag.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: CPU ID; CPUmodel; CPU details; CPU actual speed; CPU family; CPU manufacturer; CPUvoltage; and CPU external clock.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: memory model;memory slots; memory total; and memory details.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: video model;video details; display model; display details; audio model; and audiodetails.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: network model;network address; Bluetooth address; Blackbox model; Blackbox serial;Blackbox details; Blackbox damage map; Blackbox volume name; NetStoredetails; and NetStore volume name.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: optical model;optical serial; optical details; keyboard model; keyboard details; mousemodel; mouse details; printer details; and scanner details.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: baseboardmanufacturer; baseboard product name; baseboard version; baseboardserial number; and baseboard asset tag.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: chassismanufacturer; chassis type; chassis version; and chassis serial number.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: IDE controller;SATA controller; RAID controller; and SCSI controller.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: port connectordesignator; port connector type; port connector port type; and systemslot type.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: cache level;cache size; cache max size; cache SRAM type; and cache error correctiontype.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: fan; PCMCIA;modem; portable battery; tape drive; USB controller; and USB hub.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: device model;device model IMEI; device model IMSI; and device model LCD.

The device identifier may also be generated by utilizing machineparameters associated with one or more of the following: wireless802.11; webcam; game controller; silicon serial; and PCI controller.

With reference to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the device identifier 224may include two components—namely, a variable key portion 226 and asystem key portion 228. The variable key portion 226 may be generated atthe time of registration of computing device 110 by reference to avariable platform parameter, such as via reference to system timeinformation, although other parameters which are variable may beutilized in other embodiments. The system key portion 228 may includethe above described parameters expected to be unique to the device 110,such as, for example, hard disk volume name, user name, computer name,user password, hard disk initialization date, or combinations thereof.Portions 226 and/or 228 may be combined with the IP address and/or otherplatform parameters of the device 110. It is noted that deviceidentifiers, or portions thereof, may be encrypted to add an additionallayer of specificity and security.

Referring again to FIG. 1, commerce server 120 may comprise a commercemanagement module 130, which may include a security module 135, alicense module 140, a sales module 145, an audit module 150, a storagemodule 155, and a processing module 160. Security module 135 may beconfigured to authenticate device identifier 224 received from thecommerce client on computing device 110. Sales module 145 mayauthenticate user's 102 financial data such as credit or debit cardnumber, address, and membership number, if applicable. In oneembodiment, device identifier 224 can be used as the membership number.

Security module 135 may also check for information which is expected tobe unique to the item of commerce, such as, for example, the event name,location, and date. The item of commerce may include event tickets,goods, and services. The collected item of commerce identifier(“transaction identifier”) may include information regarding where theitem of commerce was sold or distributed, who the buyers, sellers,and/or distributors were, etc.

The commerce client of computing device 110 may also include aregistration routine that collects or receives information regarding thegeo-location code of the device 110. A geo-locater (not shown) maycomprise the IP address or the like of the device 110.

The commerce client may electronically send device identifier 224 andfinancial information to commerce server 120. In the alternative, or inaddition, a geo-location code, such as the IP address of the device 110,may be associated with the device identifier 224 may sent to thecommerce server 120, such as via a secured network connection. Thecommerce server 120 may encrypt and store the data, such as the deviceidentifier 224 and/or the geo-location code received from the computingdevice 110. Commerce server 120 may also receive such data from aplurality of computing devices and store the received data in storagemodule 155. Commerce server 120 may also generate a transactionidentifier for the event or item of commerce the user is seeking topurchase. In one embodiment, the transaction identifier is transmittedto the commerce client for auditing purposes.

In one embodiment, the audit module 150 may generate an audit number byassociating the transaction identifier with device identifier 224 and/orthe geo-location code, and stores the generated audit number in storagemodule 155.

In one embodiment, commerce client of device 110 may send the deviceidentifier 224 and/or the geo-location code to the server 120 in apiecemeal manner. The server 120 may in turn generate the audit number142. Commerce server 120 may receive or generate audit numbers from aplurality of computing devices and store the received audit numbers inthe storage module 155.

It is noted that the audit number may be generated from deviceidentifier 224, the transaction identifier, and/or the geo-location codevia any number of suitable approaches. For example, the transactionidentifier may be concatenated or linked with device identifier 224and/or the geo-location code. It is also noted that the audit number maybe stored in a hidden directory of computing device 110 and/or at aremote location, such as the commerce server 120. It is further notedthat device identifier 224, the transaction identifier, and/or thegeo-location code may be extracted from the audit number 142 at a latertime.

Audit module 150 may be configured to keep track of all sales andpurchases of event tickets, goods, and services. Audit module 150 mayrecord each purchase of the event tickets, goods, and services. Auditmodule 150 may also record the purchase date, purchase price,event/good/service identifier, user's 405 financial data, deviceidentifier, etc. Audit module 150 may store the collected data it instorage module 155.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process flow of a method 300 forrestricting multiple online purchases according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring now to FIG. 3, method 300 starts at step310 where a commerce client is provided to the user. The commerce clientmay be distributed using a physical medium similar to medium 105.Alternatively, the commerce client may be distributed digitally or madeavailable for download. The commerce client may be a standaloneapplication or it could be a software module within another softwareapplication such as Internet Explorer.

At step 320, the financial information of the user and the deviceidentifier of the device being used to make the transaction are receivedat the commerce server. The device identifier may be generated by thecommerce server using one or more of user-configurable andnon-user-configurable parameters of the user's device.

At step 330, the commerce server determines whether a previoustransaction has been made using the received device identifier. If aprevious transaction is found and it is recent, the user's device may bedisallowed to make any purchase on the commerce server, as shown in step340. In this way, no user may purchase a ticket or item over and overagain for items with a purchase restriction. In one embodiment, thedevice is disallowed to execute any new transaction with the commerceserver for a predetermined amount of time. The time period may be hours,days, weeks, or months. Alternatively, the time period may be until anevent has occurred, such as the date of the event has already passed.

In one embodiment, the commerce server compares the device identifierwith the transaction identifier prior to disallowing the device fromproceeding with the transaction. For example, if a device has beendetermined to have made a past and recent transaction, but the currenttransaction involves a sporting event and the past transaction was for aconcert, then the device will be allowed to proceed with the currenttransaction. If, however, both the past and recent transactions have thesame event identifier, then the current transaction will be disallowed.The transaction identifier may comprise an event identifier, name, date,location, etc. The transaction identifier is generated so that it isunique and that no two events or items of commerce share the sameidentifier.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention,there are provided devices and apparatuses for restricting multipleonline purchases. With reference to FIG. 4, there is provided anexemplary apparatus 4 that may be configured as either a computingdevice, or as a processor or similar device for use within a computingdevice. As illustrated, apparatus 400 may include: a means 450 forproviding a commerce client to a user; a means 460 for receiving afinancial information of the user and a device identifier from a devicethe user is using to run the commerce client; a means 470 fordetermining whether a previous transaction has been made with the devicehaving the received device identifier; and means 480 for disallowing thedevice from executing further transaction for a predetermined period oftime.

It is noted that apparatus 400 may optionally include a processor module430 having at least one processor, in the case of apparatus 400configured as computing device, rather than as a processor. Processor430, in such case, may be in operative communication with means 450-480,and components thereof, via a bus 410 or similar communication coupling.Processor 430 may effect initiation and scheduling of the processes orfunctions performed by means 450-480, and components thereof.

In further related aspects, apparatus 400 may optionally include a meansfor storing information, such as, for example, a memory device/module440. Computer readable medium or memory device/module 440 may beoperatively coupled to the other components of apparatus 400 via bus 410or the like. The computer readable medium or memory device 440 may beadapted to store computer readable instructions and data for effectingthe processes and behavior of means 450-480, and components thereof, orprocessor 440 (in the case of apparatus 400 configured as a computingdevice) or the methods disclosed herein.

In yet further related aspects, the memory module 440 may optionallyinclude executable code for the processor module 430 to: (a) provide acommerce client to a user; (b) receive a financial information of theuser and a device identifier of the device executing the commerceclient; (c) determine whether a previous transaction was made using thedevice having the same device identifier; and (d) disallow the devicefrom proceeding with the current transaction for a predetermined amountof time if the device has recently made similar transaction. One or moreof steps (a)-(c) may be performed by processor module 430 in lieu of orin conjunction with the means 450-480 described above.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described withparticularity in terms of preferred embodiments, it should be understoodthat no limitation of the scope of the invention is intended thereby.Features of any of the foregoing methods and devices may be substitutedor added into the others, as will be apparent to those of skill in theart. It should also be understood that variations of the particularembodiments described herein incorporating the principles of the presentinvention will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art and yet bewithin the scope of the invention.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system,”and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, eitherhardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. For example, a component can be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on acomputing device and the computing device can be a component. One ormore components can reside within a process and/or thread of executionand a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributedbetween two or more computers. In addition, these components can executefrom various computer readable media having various data structuresstored thereon. The components can communicate by way of local and/orremote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or moredata packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with anothercomponent in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a networksuch as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal).

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in theprocesses disclosed herein in an example of exemplary approaches. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged while remainingwithin the scope of the present disclosure. The accompanying methodclaims present elements of the various steps in sample order, and arenot meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

Moreover, various aspects or features described herein can beimplemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture usingstandard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term “article ofmanufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer programaccessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. Forexample, computer-readable media can include but are not limited tomagnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips,etc.), optical discs (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc(DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., ErasableProgrammable Read Only Memory (EPROM), card, stick, key drive, etc.).Additionally, various storage media described herein can represent oneor more devices and/or other machine-readable media for storinginformation. The term “machine-readable medium” can include, withoutbeing limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable ofstoring, containing, and/or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.

Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, methods and algorithmsdescribed in connection with the examples disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,methods and algorithms have been described above generally in terms oftheir functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented ashardware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for preventing redundant purchases of anitem of commerce in limited supply, the method comprising: providing acommerce client to a user; receiving (a) financial information of theuser, (b) a device identifier from a user computing device that the useris using to run the commerce client, the device identifier beinggenerated by the commerce client from a combination of at least oneuser-configurable parameter and at least one non-user-configurableparameter of the user computing device, wherein the at least onenon-user-configurable parameter is based on a silicon degradationcharacteristic of a computer chip of the user computing device, and (c)a transaction identifier comprising information unique to the item ofcommerce; determining, by a computer system, whether a previoustransaction has been made for the item of commerce with the usercomputing device associated with the received device identifier; anddisallowing the user computing device from executing furthertransactions for a predetermined period of time.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the commerce client is configured to allow the user computingdevice to perform a commercial transaction with an online commerceserver.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the limited item is selectedfrom the list consisting of a sporting ticket, a concert ticket, and atheatrical ticket.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the commerce clientis configured to generate and send the device identifier of the usercomputing device to a remote server.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe predetermined period of time comprises a period from when a firstpurchase was made using the user computing device having the receiveddevice identifier to when the limited item is no longer available. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one user-configurableparameter comprises one of hard disk volume name, user name, devicename, user password, and hard disk initialization date for the usercomputing device.
 7. An apparatus for preventing redundant purchases ofan item of commerce in limited supply, the apparatus comprising: meansfor providing a commerce client to a user; means for receiving (a)financial information of the user, (b) a device identifier from a usercomputing device that the user is using to run the commerce client, thedevice identifier being generated by the commerce client from acombination of at least one user-configurable parameter and at least onenon-user-configurable parameter of the user computing device, whereinthe at least one non-user-configurable parameter is based on a silicondegradation characteristic of a computer chip of the user computingdevice, and (c) a transaction identifier comprising information uniqueto the item of commerce; means for determining whether a previoustransaction has been made for the item of commerce with the usercomputing device associated with the received device identifier; andmeans for disallowing the user computing device from executing furthertransactions for a predetermined period of time.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 7, wherein the commerce client allows the user computing device toperform a commercial transaction with an online commerce server.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the limited item is selected from the listconsisting of a sporting ticket, a concert ticket, and a theatricalticket.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the commerce clientgenerates and sends the device identifier of the user computing deviceto a remote server.
 11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein thepredetermined period of time comprises a period from when a firstpurchase was made using the user computing device having the receiveddevice identifier to when the limited item is no longer available. 12.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one user-configurableparameter comprises one of hard disk volume name, user name, devicename, user password, and hard disk initialization date for the usercomputing device.
 13. A non-transitory computer readable medium havingstored thereon computer executable instructions that, upon execution bya computing system, cause the computing system to perform a method forpreventing redundant purchases of an item of commerce in limited supply,comprising: providing a commerce client to a user; receiving (a)financial information of the user, (b) a device identifier from a usercomputing device that the user is using to run the commerce client, thedevice identifier being generated by the commerce client from acombination of at least one user-configurable parameter and at least onenon-user-configurable parameter of the user computing device, whereinthe at least one non-user-configurable parameter is based on a silicondegradation characteristic of a computer chip of the user computingdevice; determining whether a previous transaction has been made for theitem of commerce with the user computing device associated with thereceived device identifier; and disallowing the user computing devicefrom executing further transactions for a predetermined period of time.14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further includinginstructions that, upon execution by the computing system, cause thecomputing system to allow the user computing device to perform acommercial transaction with an online commerce server.
 15. The computerreadable medium of claim 13, wherein the limited item is selected fromthe list consisting of a sporting ticket, a concert ticket, and atheatrical ticket.
 16. The computer readable medium of claim 13, furtherincluding instructions that, upon execution by the computing system,cause the computing system to generate and send the device identifier ofthe user computing device to a remote server.
 17. The computer readablemedium of claim 13, wherein the predetermined period of time comprises aperiod from when a first purchase was made using the user computingdevice having the received device identifier to when the limited item isno longer available.
 18. The computer readable medium of claim 13,wherein the at least one user-configurable parameter comprises one ofhard disk volume name, user name, device name, user password, and harddisk initialization date for the user computing device.
 19. A method forpreventing redundant purchases of an item of commerce in limited supply,the method comprising: providing a commerce client to a user; receiving(a) financial information of the user, (b) a device identifier from auser computing device that the user is using to run the commerce client,the device identifier being generated by the commerce client andcomprising a silicon degradation characteristic of a computer chip ofthe user computing device, and (c) a transaction identifier comprisinginformation unique to the item of commerce; determining, by a computersystem, whether a previous transaction has been made for the item ofcommerce with the user computing device associated with the receiveddevice identifier; and disallowing the user computing device fromexecuting further transactions for a predetermined period of time.